The Vampire Lovers, 1970

The Vampire Lovers was written, directed, and produced entirely by men. I wonder what could go wrong? Based on the Novella Carmilla, the film is part of a lesbian vampire trilogy produced by Hammer Films. Here is a little history from Kat Ellinger of Diabolique Magazine to kick it off:

"The Vampire Lovers didn’t only refresh the studio’s tired old formula — which had become fixated on Bram Stoker’s legend — but it reinstated Gothic in a distinctly feminine domain in line with true tradition. Tudor Gate’s script is one that continues to remain one of the most faithful adaptations of Sheridan Le Fanu’s original 1872 novella Carmilla (predating Stoker’s Dracula by a full 26 years). And although it is true that the exploits of Polidori’s The Vampyre, Lord Ruthven, preceded them both (1819), if you go back even further the first origins of the literary vampire can be found in Coleridge’s Christabel (1816) and Goethe’s The Bride of Corinth (1797). Stories that owe a debt to ancient myths such as Lilith — the first wife of Adam — and the demonic succubus: all of which are founded on the notion of woman as sexual predator. This idea contrasts with the Byronic anti-heroes of Polidori and Stoker which created the vampire as a male sexual predator styled in some part on Milton’s Romantic Satan (and in some part of Lord Byron himself). Yet, when it came to cinema, somehow these feminine origins were overlooked for many years."

Although Go Magazine’s Brynn Bogert argues that The Vampire Lovers fights the patriarchy, it’s clear that this film was made with the male viewer in mind. The main monster of the film, Carmilla, is a predatory lesbian vampire who seduces and kills beautiful young women. She is competing with the men in the film for the attention of the women, and she is seen as a corrupting force, which makes her a threat who is ultimately killed by a group of angry men. Carmilla is a strong character, but she is also the root of the evil in the film. Despite its shortcomings (which are many; this isn’t exactly high art), Hammer can be commended for some of its choices in the film, explained by Lauren Chance of Bitch Flicks:

"However, there is a single-mindedness to Pitt’s Carmilla that makes her enthralling for the audience and a certain tone of her performance that lifts the character out of being gratuitous with her lusts and desires. She wants Emma and she intends to have her, there is no debate over what the men think of the situation, no snide jokes that are there entirely to belittle the female relationship. In portraying the men as being entirely ignorant, Baker allows the audience to see the relationship from Carmilla and Emma’s perspective. Their touches are not always sexual, but sensual instead, the kisses not entirely chaste but always intimate and above all else the love Carmilla has for Emma is entirely between them with no one else ever being aware of it."

It seems like The Vampire Lovers rides the line of enjoyable queer cinema. Some queer viewers may like it, and others, such as myself, won’t. Personally, I don’t recommend this one. However, if you’re into the lesbian vampire subgenre, this will be essential viewing. As far as quality in writing and filmmaking go, The Vampire Lovers has been the weakest of the marathon thus far.